Device to Protect the End of a Shoelace

ABSTRACT

A device for attachment of an end part ( 2 ) of a shoelace comprises an elongated member ( 3 ) having therein a passageway ( 4 ) through which the shoelace can be inserted. Said elongated member ( 3 ) comprises an opening ( 5 ) in an end for receiving the end part ( 2 ) of the shoelace, wherein the passageway ( 4 ) for the shoelace extends over said opening ( 5 ) and is arranged so that when the shoelace has been inserted in the passageway ( 4 ) and the end part ( 2 ) of the inserted shoelace has been folded back and inserted in said opening ( 5 ), the shoelace can be pulled to tighten a part ( 6 ) of the shoelace in the passageway ( 4 ) over the opening ( 5 ) such that said part ( 6 ) of the shoelace is held firmly against the end part ( 2 ) of the shoelace in said opening ( 5 ).

The present invention relates to shoelaces and, more particularly to adevice to protect the end of a shoelace.

Conventional shoelace anglets are commonly injection-molded fromplastics. The structure of plastic anglet is not durable in use andtends to be removed from the shoelace.

Devices for protecting the end of a shoelace are already part of theprior art. U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,298 discloses a shoelace anglet having afront opening at one end thereof, a rounded head at an opposite endthereof, an end slot in the rounded head, a split extended between theend slot and the front opening, at least one protruding portion disposedat a first side of the split, and at least one recessed portion disposedat a second side of the split and adapted to receive the at least oneprotruding portion respectively.

The aim of the present invention is to propose a device for attachmentof an end part of a shoelace which is easy to fix and remove.

This aim is achieved by a device as set out in claim 1. This devicecomprises an elongated member having therein a passageway through whichthe shoelace can be inserted. It further comprises an opening in an endof the elongated member for receiving the end part of the shoelace. Saidpassageway for the shoelace extends over said opening and is arranged sothat when the shoelace has been inserted in the passageway and the endpart of the inserted shoelace has been folded back and inserted in saidopening, the shoelace can be pulled to tighten the part of the shoelacein the passageway over the opening such that said part of the shoelaceis held firmly against the end part of the shoelace in said opening.

The invention will be better understood thanks to the following detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment with reference to the attacheddrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 represents a perspective view of the device from the top frontside

FIG. 2 represents a perspective view of said device from the top rearside

FIG. 3 represents a longitudinal cross sectional view of the device.

FIG. 4 represents a cross section view of the device illustrating thefirst step of the required manipulation for holding firmly the end of ashoelace inside said device.

FIG. 5 represents a cross section view of the device illustrating thesecond step of said manipulation.

FIG. 6 represents a cross section view of said device illustrating thethird step of said manipulation.

FIG. 7 represents a cross section view of the device when themanipulation is over and the end of the shoelace is held firmly insidesaid device.

FIGS. 8 to 11 represent perspective views of the device corresponding toFIGS. 4 to 7 illustrating the steps required for holding firmly the endof the shoelace in said device.

According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, FIGS. 4 to 11show the different steps on how the end (2) of the shoelace must bearranged inside the device in order to be held firmly inside said devicewhen the manipulation is over.

First, the end part (2) of the shoelace is inserted inside the devicethrough a first hole (10) located on the top front end of said device(FIGS. 4 et 8). Said end part (2) comes out through a second elongatedhole (11) situated on the bottom side of the device. Thereafter, theshoelace is folded back and inserted through the same elongated hole(11) traversing the passageway to come out on the top side of the devicethrough a third hole (12) (FIGS. 5 and 9). The end part (2) of theshoelace is then pulled and folded back to be inserted in an opening (5)located at the end of the elongated member (3) (FIG. 6 and 10). As shownby FIG. 7, the shoelace is then pulled in an opposite direction in orderto tighten a part (6) of the shoelace in the passageway (4) over theopening (5) such that said part (6) of the shoelace is held firmlyagainst the end part (2) of the shoelace in said opening (5).

The device is constructed symmetrically and it comprises a counter part(9) to hold firmly said part (6) of the shoelace against the end part(2) of the shoelace in said opening (5).

The upper part of the elongated member (3) comprises a half cylindricalrecess (7) into which another part (8) of said shoelace is resting whenthe shoelace is held firmly inside the device. The bottom side of theelongated member (3) can be perforated so that precious stones can beset.

Such device protects the end of the shoelace against outer influences,while it is located in a fixed position.

1. A device for attachment of an end part (2) of a shoelace, comprisingan elongated member (3) having therein a passageway (4) through whichthe shoelace can be inserted and an opening (5) in an end of theelongated member (3) for receiving the end part (2) of the shoelace,wherein the passageway (4) for the shoelace is arranged so that when theshoelace has been inserted in the passageway (4) and the end part (2) ofthe inserted shoelace has been folded back and inserted in said opening(5), the shoelace can be pulled to tighten a part (6) of the shoelace onthe passageway over the opening (5), characterized in that a front partof said device comprises three holes (10, 11, 12) communicating withsaid passageway (4), a first and a second hole (10, 12) above saidpassageway (4) and an opposite third hole (11) below said passageway (4)and generally between the first and the second hole (10, 12), wherebythe shoelace can be inserted through first and third holes (10, 11) andback through said third and second hole (12, 11) before the end part (2)of the shoelace is folded back and inserted in the opening (5), thepassageway (4) being arranged to extend over said opening (5) such thatsaid tightened part (6) of the shoelace is held firmly against the endpart (2) of the shoelace when said shoelace is pulled.
 2. (canceled) 3.A device for attachment of an end (2) of a shoelace according to claim1, characterized in that the upper part of the elongated member (3)comprises a part cylindrical recess (7) into which another part (8) ofsaid shoelace is resting when the shoelace is held firmly inside thedevice.
 4. A device for attachment of an end (2) of a shoelace accordingto claim 2, characterized in that said device (1) comprises a counterpart (9) to hold firmly said part (6) of the shoelace against the endpart (2) of the shoelace in the passageway (4).
 5. A device according toclaim 3 characterized in that said device (1) is constructedsymmetrically.
 6. A device according to claim 1, which supports at leastone precious stone.
 7. A device according to claim 3, which supports atleast one precious stone.
 8. A device according to claim 4, whichsupports at least one precious stone.
 9. A device according to claim 5,which supports at least one precious stone.